The present invention relates to a device for measuring and recording the available ranges of motion of a portion of an individual.
In the field of orthopedic medicine, it is often necessary to measure the range of motion of different portions of the patient's body to determine disabilities and in diagnosing various diseases and injuries. The neck and lumbar regions are capable of a wide range of and motions and it is also desirable to measure and record motion of the upper or lower extremities of the body thereby providing a varied and otherwise difficult to describe range of body motions. A display would accordingly be advantageous to determine a more precise degree of disability utilizing measurements with sufficient accuracy to determine when improvement or regression have taken place. To combat the prior lack of accurate means of measuring, it has been suggested that various measuring and testing techniques be utilized to measure the range of motion of different portions of the human anatomy and these include attaching an angle measuring gauge with a strap to the head so that movement of the head parallel with the angle gauge will indicate the degree of angle that the head can be moved by the patient. This is somewhat inadequate inasmuch as it does not record the data and it measures only one angle rather than the full range of available motion and requires the moving of the gauge into a different position for measuring the angle and range of motion from each spot and hand recording the information.
The present invention on the other hand overcomes these limitations by allowing the patient to move a portion of his anatomy in any direction and move through various ranges of motions while the entire range of motion is recorded on a display board or graph for developing a precise chart of the movement capable of a particular patient. The present invention also provides for attaching to the head, chest, upper or lower extremities for making different measurements as desired by the physician.